We Had Some Laughs

A celebration of the smoky, beery world of darts, this is also a story of loss. Not just of a much-loved father and man, but of places and times now gone for ever.

The book tells the story of a young boy who grew up at the darts, in a time of change and turmoil. Who saw his dad go from a struggling TV producer to the most lauded sports commentator of his generation, and find a purpose in his life that had previously eluded him. At one stage, as darts disappeared from the screen in the early 1990s, and Sid was made redundant from the BBC just as a novel he had written was rejected, it seemed like his career might be a failure, in his eyes at least. But the bloody darts split that then galvanized the sport also resurrected Sid's career and his spirit.

The book follows these ups and downs from Dan's viewpoint, and tries and explain why Sid's death prompted a tribute from Britain’s most famous footballer. It will also be a celebration of a way of life and an era that has vanished forever - pit life in the North East, the early wild west days of television, and the boozy, smoky pre-arena years of darts. But, most of all, it’s a story about fathers and sons, and the unshakeable bond between them…